SiFive has announced the launch of its latest data center core, the P870-D, which it claims is a step up from Arm's Neoverse N2 in density for AI.
VisionFive computer with RISC-V StarFive SiFive U74 SoC at 1GHz #shorts
The P870-D is a data center-focused variant of the RISC-V powered P870 core, which debuted about a year ago. The main upgrades for the P870-D include its hibernation capability, error detection, 57-bit virtual addressing for more memory, and the ability to scale up to 256 cores in a single SoC, which can optionally be monolithic or chiplet-based.
These data center-focused improvements are why the new core has that "D" at the end; However, SiFive senior director Ian Ferguson told The Register that the company debated for a while whether to add that letter or come up with a new model name for its new core.
Ferguson says the P870-D doesn't try to achieve peak performance, but instead balances speed with efficiency. The core is apparently on par with the Arms Neoverse N2 – found in Microsoft's Azure Cobalt 100 – in terms of performance, but is around 25 percent smaller.
